Lampshade Makeover That Doesn’t Look Like Crap

There are approximately 7 billion lampshade makeovers online.

So why am I posting this? Because 80% of them look like they were done by an unsupervised toddler. The outsides look fine, but it’s the insides that drive me nuts. You want to redo a lampshade, so you Google it or search it on Pinterest, you find one you like and when you get to the end of the tutorial, one of a couple things has happened:

1. The fabric has been tucked up under the lampshade and not trimmed and generally looks like butt. When the lamp is turned on, the fabric that wasn’t trimmed will block more light and you’ll be able to see that mess through the shade.

or

2. The fabric has been trimmed and some sort of ribbon or trim has been added to cover the shoddy job. Fine, unless trims and sparkly dangly things aren’t your bag.

3. The inside of the shade has been covered in an attempt to hide the top and bottom edges. Yeah, great idea, cover that entire thing with fabric and make it super dark so that zero light can escape. We’ll call it a bookend instead of a lamp.

4. The lamp is photographed where you can’t even see the insides of the lamp.

Are you sensing my frustration? Go ahead, search it Pinterest and tell me I’m wrong. It is not my intention to offend anyone, although I do realize that may be exactly what I’m doing. I’ve done all of these things. My intention is for your lamp to look like a bad@ss, in real life and at close range. The last thing you want is a guest in your home turning on a lamp, seeing the inside of it and wondering how the fabric got tangled up with the garbage disposal. So, here’s my technique for making shades look as neat as possible.

I picked up a pair of these little babies at my favorite thrift store. The lamp bases were $20 each and 30% off and the shades were 10 smackers and 20% off. I’m no math-magician but that’s not bad for a pair of giant lamps.

Check out the original price on the shades. #ThirftScore

If you are using a tapered shade, it would be best to make a paper template first. Since I am using a drum shade, I just laid it out, measured and cut. I also lightly spray painted the lamp with Flat White Rustoleum prior to covering. I didn’t want the yellow of the lampshade to show through the white of the new fabric when the light was on.

I also wanted this pattern to be as straight as possible once on the shade. A slightly crooked fabric would be a dead giveaway that this was a handmade craft. Although the shade doesn’t look tapered, it tapers enough that the pattern doesn’t match up at the vertical seam in the back. I sprayed the fabric with spray adhesive and then laid the front middle of the lamp directly onto the fabric where I wanted it and rolled one way and then the other, making sure to stay as straight as possible. Then I clipped it with a binder clip.

Spray adhesive is repositionable, so this gives you the chance to stand up the shade and smooth it out and make sure the pattern is straight in the front.

Run a line of glue under the fabric on one side and smooth it down. Put one hand on the inside of the shade with the other on the outside of the shade and apply pressure to both sides to make the glue line smooth.

Instead of gluing the other side right away, I just binder clip it and save it for last so I can continue smoothing as I go.

Okay, here’s the secret to neat insides. See that wire lip?

Smooth and fold your fabric over that wire lip…

…using a pair of sharp fabric scissors, carefully trim the fabric all the way around the shade. The key is to let the wire be your guide, keep the scissors snug against the wire lip while cutting and you should get a fairly straight cut all the way around. Take care not to puncture the shade. Repeat for the bottom.

This will give you a tiny fabric allowance to tuck under the lamp shade and into that little groove.

Run a thin line of hot glue or fabric glue along the little groove where the wire meets the shade…

Using your finger nail or even a flat head screwdriver, gently tuck the fabric into that little groove.

Once all the way around, I glued the other end of the fabric, smoothed it down, folded over the edge and hot glued ‘er.

Check out those edges…

Nice and clean.

Run a small line of Fray Check around the edge of the fabric and/or into that little groove to remedy any fabric fraying.

I also sprayed them down with Rustoleum’s Specialty Metallic Gold Spray Paint. Yeah, they were already gold, but they were a little harsh. I first tried to fix these with a little Rub n Buff, but… it looked turrible. I have 1.5 cans of the gold spray paint left and I’ve been spraying everything in sight. Best. Gold. Ever.

No, I am not on the Rustoleum payroll … but I’ll dang ol’ tell you whut, Rustoleum is the best. Hands down.

They’re chillin’ in the guest room until I can figure out a night stand solution for the master bedroom. Considering a Rast Hack…. gag.

Check out these up-tops.

There. She’s all nice and groomed, no more embarrassing up-skirts.

What do ya think? Am I a total jerk for callin’ out your lamp skills? Is this just another crappy lamp recover?

Comments

OK, I’ve redone lots of bases, but ALWAYS cop out and just buy a new shade. Yup, yup . . . I know. But not really lazy, more just don’t want poopy lamps in my pretty rooms. So I’m gonna review this a time or two and see where my confidence level is at that point. Who knows, I may try it! Helpful post. Thanks.

You did a great job on the inside of the shades. The fabric is gorgeous. However, since the purpose of this post was to “call out” all the unsupervised toddlers, please note that the fabrics are not aligned. With the lamps side by side, this mismatch jumps out and screams “DIY, DIY, DIY”.

Thank you, Sylvia. I appreciate your honesty and value your opinion. The point of the post was not to “call out” anyone, it was actually intended to give a little more detailed tutorial on how to clean up the insides of a lampshade. I apologize if I offended you.

Fortunately, these lamps do not live side by side. Have fabulous week.

I love love your tutorial! I am getting ready to do my own shades and I’d like it neat as well! I love the whole lamp but especially the fabric you chose. Great job! Saying Hello from Friday Link up!
leelee @ paperbagstyling.blogspot.com

You did a great job on updating this lamp! Thanks for sharing this project on The Pin Junkie. It’s being featured at tonight’s party. Hope you can stop by to grab a featured button and share another great project.

What a fabulous makeover and tutorial! I have not personally committed any of the lampshade atrocities (at least not since I started blogging ) but will certainly follow your tutorial for any future attempts. Pinning!

This lampshade makeover doesn’t look like crap! In fact, it looks pretty freaking awesome! Who’d have thought it was so easy to get lovely clean edges and neatly matched patterns? Not me from the overabundance of sloppy lampshade makeovers that exist in bloglandia This should be THE definitive lampshade covering tutorial!